THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
October 26, 2014
www.theparacast.com
Explore “UFOs for the 21st Century Mind” on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Attention U.S. Listeners: Help Us Bring The Paracast to Your City! In the summer of 2010, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. But we need your help to add additional affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact on your behalf. We can't do this alone, and if you succeed in convincing your local station to carry the show, we'll reward you with one of our special T-shirts, and other goodies. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
Please Visit Our Online Store: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and an expanded collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt now featuring our brand new logo, just pay a visit to our online store at The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We also offer a complete lineup of other premium merchandise for your family, your friends and your business contacts.
About The Paracast: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host and acclaimed field investigator Christopher O'Brien, and a panel of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris welcome back Richard Dolan, who returns to talk about his new book "UFOs for the 21st Century Mind: A Fresh Guide to an Ancient Mystery," which is garnering rave reviews. Unlike other books on the subject, Dolan gives a thorough overview of the subject starting in the ancient past and working his way to the present day. He re-examines the classic cases and looks at the political, economic, religious, scientific and cultural implications of UFOs, not to mention the current state of ufology. The topic of disclosure is addressed at length. We'll cover a wide range of subjects and Dolan responds to questions from our listeners.
Chris O’Brien’s Site: Our Strange Planet
Richard Dolan’s Site: rdpress
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums.
MJ-12 Revisited
By Gene Steinberg
Most of you know that the “official” government explanation for the 1947 Roswell crash was a Mogull balloon. Despite this oft-repeated “solution,” some UFO researchers have spent years trying to get a handle on whether an alien spaceship actually landed at Roswell, and whether the wreckage — and perhaps the pilots — are still being held in a secret government installation.
In 1984, during the height of the Roswell furor, Ufologist Jaime Shandera received an envelope from an unknown sender that contained a roll of film, which, when developed, revealed images of eight pages of documents that discussed the activities of “Operation Majestic Twelve.” These MJ-12 papers supposedly revealed the existence of a committee of 12 individuals, charged with studying UFOs, who focused on the Roswell crash.
The listed members included the government officials you’d expect to be on such a committee, with a curious addition, that of Harvard astronomer Donald Menzel, a notorious UFO debunker and author of several books on the subject. Menzel would seem a curious person to be part of such a group, particularly since it referred to a supposedly real event involving a real flying saucer. However, it was later discovered that Menzel worked in intelligence during World War II, which wasn’t unusual for scientists of that era, so maybe his public anti-UFO persona was a fake?
For more reasons that I care to recount here, MJ-12 remains a matter of controversy. One of the original Roswell investigators, Stanton Friedman, continues to maintain that the first set of MJ-12 documents were genuine, though a number of related documents were fakes. Kevin Randle, himself heavily engaged in investigating Roswell, insists the documents are fraudulent.
The FBI also concluded the documents were faked, but why would you believe a government agency? After all, aren’t they busy keeping the UFO secret?
When another key figure in the MJ-12 affair, William Moore, who co-authored “The Roswell Incident” with Charles Berlitz, claimed to have engaged in disinformation at the behest of the government, that was regarded as a possible nail in the coffin for MJ-12. Was it, as some suggest, designed to lead researchers astray?
To this day, Friedman continues to debate the reality of MJ-12 with his colleagues, which also include Robert Hastings, author of “UFOs and Nukes.” This is the sort of discussion that can never reach a conclusion, unless the government were to admit the documents were genuine, or the person or persons who faked them confessed to the deed.
As you’ll hear on this weekend’s episode of The Paracast, historian and UFO researcher Richard Dolan, author of several books on the subject that include “UFOs for the 21st Century Mind,” has an interesting take on the controversy. I’m merely taking his statements as a starting point, however.
So let me begin.
If the entire MJ-12 mystery consisted of but a single document for which there was no independent verification, perhaps you could label it as a fake.
But that’s not the case. It appears you could fill a whole book with alleged MJ-12 and similar documents of one sort or another. Are some or all fake? Is it possible that the phony papers were mixed in with the genuine as a form of disinformation, designed to confuse and befuddle researchers?
You see, it’s not that such documents are easy to make. Perhaps one counterintelligence agent, working in his little cubicle, or at home, could write a few. But when you have hundreds of pages available, just how long would they take to prepare, particularly on old fashioned typewriters? Is it a single person, a group of people?
More to the point, is the effort even worth it? True, the Berlitz/Moore book sold quite well. Berlitz became a best-selling author courtesy of an earlier title, “The Bermuda Triangle,” along with its sequel, “The Philadelphia Experiment.” He had a major publisher with major promotion, so it was the Roswell book had a built-in audience.
Years later, with Moore, Friedman and others still immersed in ongoing Roswell investigations, was there truly a plot to keep the subject alive that involved the appearance of supposedly secret government documents? How many documents would that effort require and how many people would the alleged hoaxers expect to reach?
While the core of the Roswell mystery may be part of our cultural landscape, MJ-12 and other side issues remain relatively obscure. Can we truly believe that a large group of disinformation agents got together to build a whole portfolio of related bogus documents? Would it even be worth the time and expense? Or was this a matter of government officials with lots of time on their hands spending months to come up with this material? Even if you assume they are all fake, it would require some pretty smart people to put it all together.
It seems hardly worth the effort, though stories about government waste, or possible waste, are legion. So I suppose anything is possible, particularly if a few hundred thousand dollars in unspent funds became available.
Of course, if you have a conspiratorial bent, you might suggest there are a host of faked secret documents mixed in with real ones to lead independent researchers astray. Besides, it wouldn’t have to be just about UFOs, but about any subject the government didn’t want to reveal. Add to that ongoing drafts of a specific document, and you’d have an endless repository of material to explore, or waste time exploring.
I am no expert on government documents. While the sheer scope of the material might reduce the possibility of fakery, it hasn’t been proven that these documents are real and represent the activities of an actual group within the government that is in the know about UFOs. That it continues to be debated endlessly without resolution may serve the purpose of sowing seeds of confusion in the UFO field. Even if there is a kernel of truth there, somewhere, where’s the proof?
If you assume an MJ-12 group really existed, would new members be chosen as the original group retired or passed on? Is there still a secret group deeply involved in hiding the truth about the flying saucers? Or are some people just laughing up their sleeves at the ongoing arguments over a bunch of fake documents?
Worse, will there ever be a final answer? After all these years, I doubt it.
Why You Should Donate to The Paracast: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough to pay your humble hosts decent wages. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network or local stations. So we hope you're able to help fill the gap, if you can, to help us cover increasing server costs and other expenses -- or perhaps provide a little extra cash for lunch and utility bills. No contribution is too small (or too large
. It’s easy to send a donation. We have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. Or use the Donatelink on our forums, at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. You can also send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com.
Copyright 1999-2014 Making The Impossible, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
October 26, 2014
www.theparacast.com
Explore “UFOs for the 21st Century Mind” on The Paracast
The Paracast is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.
Attention U.S. Listeners: Help Us Bring The Paracast to Your City! In the summer of 2010, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. But we need your help to add additional affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact on your behalf. We can't do this alone, and if you succeed in convincing your local station to carry the show, we'll reward you with one of our special T-shirts, and other goodies. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
Please Visit Our Online Store: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and an expanded collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt now featuring our brand new logo, just pay a visit to our online store at The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We also offer a complete lineup of other premium merchandise for your family, your friends and your business contacts.
About The Paracast: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host and acclaimed field investigator Christopher O'Brien, and a panel of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris welcome back Richard Dolan, who returns to talk about his new book "UFOs for the 21st Century Mind: A Fresh Guide to an Ancient Mystery," which is garnering rave reviews. Unlike other books on the subject, Dolan gives a thorough overview of the subject starting in the ancient past and working his way to the present day. He re-examines the classic cases and looks at the political, economic, religious, scientific and cultural implications of UFOs, not to mention the current state of ufology. The topic of disclosure is addressed at length. We'll cover a wide range of subjects and Dolan responds to questions from our listeners.
Chris O’Brien’s Site: Our Strange Planet
Richard Dolan’s Site: rdpress
Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums.
MJ-12 Revisited
By Gene Steinberg
Most of you know that the “official” government explanation for the 1947 Roswell crash was a Mogull balloon. Despite this oft-repeated “solution,” some UFO researchers have spent years trying to get a handle on whether an alien spaceship actually landed at Roswell, and whether the wreckage — and perhaps the pilots — are still being held in a secret government installation.
In 1984, during the height of the Roswell furor, Ufologist Jaime Shandera received an envelope from an unknown sender that contained a roll of film, which, when developed, revealed images of eight pages of documents that discussed the activities of “Operation Majestic Twelve.” These MJ-12 papers supposedly revealed the existence of a committee of 12 individuals, charged with studying UFOs, who focused on the Roswell crash.
The listed members included the government officials you’d expect to be on such a committee, with a curious addition, that of Harvard astronomer Donald Menzel, a notorious UFO debunker and author of several books on the subject. Menzel would seem a curious person to be part of such a group, particularly since it referred to a supposedly real event involving a real flying saucer. However, it was later discovered that Menzel worked in intelligence during World War II, which wasn’t unusual for scientists of that era, so maybe his public anti-UFO persona was a fake?
For more reasons that I care to recount here, MJ-12 remains a matter of controversy. One of the original Roswell investigators, Stanton Friedman, continues to maintain that the first set of MJ-12 documents were genuine, though a number of related documents were fakes. Kevin Randle, himself heavily engaged in investigating Roswell, insists the documents are fraudulent.
The FBI also concluded the documents were faked, but why would you believe a government agency? After all, aren’t they busy keeping the UFO secret?
When another key figure in the MJ-12 affair, William Moore, who co-authored “The Roswell Incident” with Charles Berlitz, claimed to have engaged in disinformation at the behest of the government, that was regarded as a possible nail in the coffin for MJ-12. Was it, as some suggest, designed to lead researchers astray?
To this day, Friedman continues to debate the reality of MJ-12 with his colleagues, which also include Robert Hastings, author of “UFOs and Nukes.” This is the sort of discussion that can never reach a conclusion, unless the government were to admit the documents were genuine, or the person or persons who faked them confessed to the deed.
As you’ll hear on this weekend’s episode of The Paracast, historian and UFO researcher Richard Dolan, author of several books on the subject that include “UFOs for the 21st Century Mind,” has an interesting take on the controversy. I’m merely taking his statements as a starting point, however.
So let me begin.
If the entire MJ-12 mystery consisted of but a single document for which there was no independent verification, perhaps you could label it as a fake.
But that’s not the case. It appears you could fill a whole book with alleged MJ-12 and similar documents of one sort or another. Are some or all fake? Is it possible that the phony papers were mixed in with the genuine as a form of disinformation, designed to confuse and befuddle researchers?
You see, it’s not that such documents are easy to make. Perhaps one counterintelligence agent, working in his little cubicle, or at home, could write a few. But when you have hundreds of pages available, just how long would they take to prepare, particularly on old fashioned typewriters? Is it a single person, a group of people?
More to the point, is the effort even worth it? True, the Berlitz/Moore book sold quite well. Berlitz became a best-selling author courtesy of an earlier title, “The Bermuda Triangle,” along with its sequel, “The Philadelphia Experiment.” He had a major publisher with major promotion, so it was the Roswell book had a built-in audience.
Years later, with Moore, Friedman and others still immersed in ongoing Roswell investigations, was there truly a plot to keep the subject alive that involved the appearance of supposedly secret government documents? How many documents would that effort require and how many people would the alleged hoaxers expect to reach?
While the core of the Roswell mystery may be part of our cultural landscape, MJ-12 and other side issues remain relatively obscure. Can we truly believe that a large group of disinformation agents got together to build a whole portfolio of related bogus documents? Would it even be worth the time and expense? Or was this a matter of government officials with lots of time on their hands spending months to come up with this material? Even if you assume they are all fake, it would require some pretty smart people to put it all together.
It seems hardly worth the effort, though stories about government waste, or possible waste, are legion. So I suppose anything is possible, particularly if a few hundred thousand dollars in unspent funds became available.
Of course, if you have a conspiratorial bent, you might suggest there are a host of faked secret documents mixed in with real ones to lead independent researchers astray. Besides, it wouldn’t have to be just about UFOs, but about any subject the government didn’t want to reveal. Add to that ongoing drafts of a specific document, and you’d have an endless repository of material to explore, or waste time exploring.
I am no expert on government documents. While the sheer scope of the material might reduce the possibility of fakery, it hasn’t been proven that these documents are real and represent the activities of an actual group within the government that is in the know about UFOs. That it continues to be debated endlessly without resolution may serve the purpose of sowing seeds of confusion in the UFO field. Even if there is a kernel of truth there, somewhere, where’s the proof?
If you assume an MJ-12 group really existed, would new members be chosen as the original group retired or passed on? Is there still a secret group deeply involved in hiding the truth about the flying saucers? Or are some people just laughing up their sleeves at the ongoing arguments over a bunch of fake documents?
Worse, will there ever be a final answer? After all these years, I doubt it.
Why You Should Donate to The Paracast: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough to pay your humble hosts decent wages. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network or local stations. So we hope you're able to help fill the gap, if you can, to help us cover increasing server costs and other expenses -- or perhaps provide a little extra cash for lunch and utility bills. No contribution is too small (or too large
. It’s easy to send a donation. We have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. Or use the Donatelink on our forums, at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. You can also send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com.Copyright 1999-2014 Making The Impossible, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!